Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.

A year of violent clashes has reshaped Israel's strategic picture. Calls by the government to give up territory and redraw Israel's borders have given way to a less ambitious agenda that will seek to bolster the country's military, lower expectations about making further unilateral moves, and dampen hopes for a quick resolution with Palestinians. Mark Regev, spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said, "We have two concrete examples where Israel redeployed behind internationally recognized frontiers, in Lebanon and in Gaza, and did not create the peace people predicted. Obviously, that affects our thinking about the West Bank."

After every speech I get the question "so what's the solution?" The answer is "peace through strength squared." Weakness and concessions embolden all aggressors as a matter of human nature, but its impact on jihad is greatly magnified because of the centrality of one of Muhammed's teachings on jihad. He forbade attack from a position of weakness, but mandated it from strength. Every show of strength, therefore, pushes back the jihad. To destroy the jihad, all one needs to do is turn to history. The fall of the Ottoman Empire essentially pacified Muslims globally without the need for much bloodshed.

Specfically, the only significant debate in the Muslim world is whether the West's strength is real or not. Islamists argue that there is no value to nuclear weapons, for example, when infidels won't ever use them. When entire populations demonstrate their enmity, such as the Palestinians, infidels refuse to use their strength to strike back at the group. Therefore there is no real strength, because Muslims can always be shielded by paralysis over "civilian casualties."

This single, simple lesson, however, is not at all understood. It can prevent the death of billions and the enslavement of all humanity. Would you please be so kind as to help us spread it?